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Police dogs train at Palisades Center mall

By Steve Lieberman;
12 a.m. EST January 16, 2014

Middletown Police Officer Patrick Cunningham works with his K-9 Unit partner Ivan at a training exercise. More than 100 police dogs and their handlers took part in the all-day session on Thursday at the Palisades Center in West Nyack. (Khurram Saeed/The Journal News)(Photo: Khurram Saeed/The Journal News)

WEST NYACK – More than 100 police dogs and their officers trained Thursday at the Palisades Center.

The training centered around the experiences of the Boston Police Department K-9 units during the terrorist explosion at the Boston Marathon on April 13.

Boston’s K-9 units attended the sessions.

The Clarkstown Police Department hosted the training, which started at 9 a.m. It included classroom sessions and working with the dogs through emergency scenarios, said Clarkstown Police Officer Joseph Knarich, who works with K-9 partner Oz.

Knarich said officers and their dogs stayed outside the public areas of the mall as much as possible. They didn’t want to alarm patrons.

“We will be using the back areas of the mall,” he said Thursday. “We’re trying to avoid the mall patrons as much as possible.”

He said the mall was a good venue for the training.

He said that aside from the Boston police and local K-9 units, the training drew officers, dogs and SWAT units from across the state and East Coast, including federal parks.

Several training sessions with the U.S. Police Canine Association have been held in Rockland over the years. The Suffern Police Department hosted a training session at the Salvation Army grounds in the village.